The heavyweight bout served as the headliner of Saturday’s World Series of Fighting 6 event, which took place at New Jersey’s Revel Atlantic City and aired live on NBS Sports Network.

Kyle scored first, blasting Arlovski with a two-punch combination that sent Arlovski to the canvas. Arlovski wisely shot in to slow things down, and he eventually scrambled back to his feet. On the restart, it was Arlovski who started to settle in and find a home for his right hand. As Arlovksi started to pump a jab, as well, he caught an off-balance Kyle with a punch that sent him to the floor.

Kyle moved quickly back to his feet, but he was forced to eat another stiff right before the end of the round.

Kyle looked content to counter in the second, and while he found some success with stiff right hands, he also ate a few Arlovski power shots on the feet. After a flurry in the pocket, Kyle elected to move in for a takedown, but Arlovski defended well agains the cage and earned a restart.

An early third-round exchange saw Arlovski complain of an eye poke, but referee Dan Miragliotta ruled it was a closed fist, and they fought on. Shortly after, Kyle scored with a right hand that send Arlovski to the floor. He popped quickly back up, but it was a clean knockdown.

Arlovski continued to move forward for the remainder of the round, though Kyle was always there to answer in the pocket. Arlovski moved in for a late takedown, but Kyle easily pushed him away, and they finished on the feet.

In the end, judges awarded Arlovski’s early work, and he was awarded a unanimous-decision win, 29-28 on all three cards.

Branch earns title shot, Mehmen floors Gracie

In the night’s co-feature, Renzo Gracie protege David Branch (13-3) advanced to the finals of World Series of Fighting’s four-man middleweight tournament with a dominating decision win over Danillo Villefort (14-5).

With Villefort missing on a few early low kick attempts, Branch looked to work hands in the early going. After a brief exchange, Villefort claimed he was poked in the eye, but referee Gasper Oliver didn’t see the infraction, and the fight carried on. Branch moved into a clinch, eventually getting a late takedown in a round that was largely contested in a stalemate.

In the second, Branch walked forward and drove in for a powerful takedown, setting up on top for the remainder of the round. Villefort looked for submissions from the bottom, including a slick move to attack the leg, but Branch defending it perfectly and maintained his dominant position.

With Villefort looking to strike in the third, Branch simply walked through a flying knee and pressed the action to the floor. Villefort was again active from his back, but he was never able to truly threaten Branch, who instead transitioned around to the back. Villefort eventually peeled him off, but he never answered with any offense, and Branch cruised to a win.

Branch will now compete for the inaugural World Series of Fighting middleweight title against an opponent that will be determined at a later date.

Gracie turned his nose to conventional wisdom in the opening round, outboxing Mehmen on the feet rather than look for an opportunity to take the fight to the floor. The strategy worked, and Mehmen looked frustrated at the end of the first frame.

With the element of surprise gone in the second, Mehmen settled in and looked to return fire. They went back and forth for much of the frame until a perfectly timed right hand scored to the chin of a retreating Gracie, who spun around and collapsed on the floor. Mehmen was awarded the knockout win at the 2:40 mark of the second round.

Mutapcic vs. Taylor scratched, Karakhanyan impresses

In a bizarre turn of events, a middleweight tournament bout between Elvis Mutapcic (13-2) and Jesse Taylor (26-9) was scrapped moments before the fighters were set to walk to the cage when New Jersey State Athletic Control Board officials allegedly observed Mutapcic ingesting prescription medication prior to the contest.

“There were some prescriptions that weren’t given to our doctors during the physicals and that weren’t approved by us, the commission,” a NJSACB rep said about the decision. “So since we don’t know what they are and what they do, we canceled the fight.

“We can’t take that chance to have that fight go off, so those things need to be looked at, and they need to be talked about. We just feel that we’re not going to have a fight in New Jersey when we don’t know what someone is taking.”

A stunned Mutapcic insisted he didn’t take anything backstage and believes it was simply a case of mistaken identity.

“I really don’t know what happened, what [the inspector] saw,” Mutapcic said. “She might have been taking some medication, herself. I put in a good 10-week training camp. I worked my ass off. I know Taylor’s ready. I’m not sure if she mistaked me for my manager, who has a heart prescription. He was the one that had it. We’re all dressed the same – same T-shirt, same hat. I mean, there’s four of us, and she’s pointing me out, that I took it. I say I’ll take a blood test. I’ll give a hair sample if they need it. I’ve got nothing in my system. I’m completely clean.”

World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo said both Mutapcic and Taylor will be paid their show money, and the bout could be rescheduled as soon as World Series of Fighting 6, which takes place in October.

Georgi Karakhanyan (22-3-1) announced himself as a contender in World Series of Fighting’s featherweight division, scoring a first-round submission win over Waylon Lowe (14-5).

Karakhanyan was the aggressor to start, and his kicks were his biggest weapon, firing thema t all levels. Lowe circled away from the power and looked for opportunities to fire his straight left. Eventually, Lowe decided to use his wrestling to change the momentum, but it would turn out to be his undoing.

Lowe shot directly into a guillotine, and Karakhanyan fell to his back and arched, adjusting his squeeze until he got the tap at the 3:37 mark of the first.

Glenn, Rivera, Patishnock victorious in thrillers

In the night’s featured prelim, featherweights Rick Glenn (14-2-1) and Artur Rofi (6-1) went to-to-toe for 15 minutes, but it was “The Gladiator” who walked away victorious.

The two wasted little time moving into the clinch at the opening bell, but Rofi took advantage of the position by moving to the back and jumping to wrap his legs around Glenn’s waist. Unable to secure a choke, Rofi let go but transitioned immediately into an attack on the arm as they hit the canvas.

Glenn was patient in his defense as Rofi kept hold of the arm. Glenn couldn’t offer any counter until the final few seconds with a couple of slams, but he survived a near impossible position.

Rofi shot in for a takedown to start the second, but Glenn defended against the fence. Glenn looked to strike as the round wore on, landing left hands from distance. Rofi invited more of the same, and Glenn happily obliged. Rofi tried to jump to guard, but Glenn pushed him away and scored more points with punches from the top.

Rofi came out on fire in the third, winging rapid strikes. He scored with a grazing knee to the cup to cause a brief stall, but they both came out firing on the restart. Glenn continued to find a home for the left hand, but a gritty Rofi refused to do anything but walk forward. Rofi looked for a choke in the final seconds but couldn’t get the squeeze in time, and Glenn was awarded a decision win.

It was Rivera who came out winging heavy leather, but a crisp Honorio right sent his opponent crashing to the floor early. Honorio jumped to mount his wounded foe, but Rivera somehow survived the punches and pushed his way free and escaped back to his feet. Honorio was punching the whole time and seemed to slow a bit after the initial onslaught, even as the two continued to scramble for the remainder of the round.

Honorio continued to rifle out capoeira-based attacks in the second, though Rivera largely avoided the blows. A powerful Rivera low kick swept Honorio to the floor, but Rivera backed away rather than engage. The two took turns winging power hooks for the remainder of the frame in an entertaining scrap.

Rivera kept the pressure high in the third, and the two stood in front of each other firing wild hooks. However, Rivera scored the most points by taking the fight to the floor on a few occasions and punching away from top position. Honorio looked for options from his back, but Rivera was the better man after the initial near-finish.

He was awarded the decision win for his efforts, 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

In a spirited welterweight bout, Richard Patishnock (6-1) defeated a second member of MMA’s First Family by earning a unanimous-decision win over Gregor Gracie (7-4).

It was Gracie who took control early, scoring with a takedown and looking to outgrapple his foe. Patishnock wasn’t going away that easy, and he crawled back to the feet. A pair of traded low blows marred the action shortly after, but both fighter apologized for their inadvertent infractions.

On the restart, Patishnock wobbled Gracie with a series of punches and knees that looked certain to end the fight, though the bell sounded before he could finish the job.

Gracie recovered well enough to keep the second competitive, but Patishnock claimed control and the round by being the busier fighter and avoiding any bad grappling spots.

In the third, a tired Gracie did his best to land it spurts, but each time he started to establish an offense, Patishnock would answer back with a flurry of his own. Gracie looked for a few takedown opportunities, but Patishnock was up to the challenge and earned a decision win for his efforts.

Dugulubgov impresses, Gracie victorious in debut

In a 160-pound catchweight fight, Ozzy Dugulubgov announced his arrival as a prospect to watch with an impressive second-round win over Andrew Osbourne.

Dugulubgov set the tone early, countering Osbourne’s sharp low kicks with powerful kicks of his own to the body. A hammering left hand came shortly after, though Dugulubgov slipped to the floor and couldn’t capitalize. Still, it was an explosive opening round.

In the second, Dugulubgov scored with a nasty low kick to the groin that caused a break in action. On the restart, Dugulubgov caught an Osbourne kick and then delivered a left hand counter that dropped Osbourne. Dugulubgov quickly followed to the ground, and while Osbourne looked for a potential triangle choke, Dugulubgov pushed the legs aside, dropped back to attack the limb and scored with an Achilles lock that earned a tap at the 1:12 mark for the round.

In the night’s first fight, middleweight Neiman Gracie (1-0) proved victorious in his professional debut, earning a first-round submission win over Darren Costa (0-2).

Southpaw Costa rushed inside at the opening bell, and Gracie looked happy to work from the clinch. Gracie went willingly to his back, but Costa refused to engage on the floor and backed away, where he capitalized by landing punches and knees to the body.

A crisp left hand on the feet wobbled Gracie, but when Costa waded too far inside, he was made to pay. Gracie moved into a clinch and tripped the action to the floor, quickly setting up in top position. From there, he rolled out for an armbar and immediately locking the hold in place, ending the fight by tapout at the 3:57 mark of the first.

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